Removing hooks from the heads or mouths of certain types of fish, such as eels, catfish and the like, is a difficult undertaking, primarily because, in the case of eels, they are very slippery and are difficult to grip firmly, particularly when they are wiggling. Catfish, also, have spurs on the head which are sometimes difficult to avoid when removing hooks from the head of the catfish. Accordingly, various types of apparatus have been devised heretofore which mostly are of a hand-held type for purposes of extending the head of an eel or the like beyond the device so that the hook might be removed from the head of the fish. A typical apparatus of this type such as have been developed heretofore is represented by U.S. Pat. No. 2,547,592, to Morris, dated Apr. 3, 1951.
Boxes also have been employed in conjunction with fishing but these mainly have been for purposes of holding bait of various kinds, including small fish, grasshoppers and the like. Typical examples of such boxes are shown in prior U.S. Pat. Nos.:
2,160,436--Jones--May 30, 1939 PA1 2,346,744--Glassman--Apr. 18, 1944 PA1 2,544,049--Sawner--Mar. 6, 1951
In the foregoing patents, Jones and Sawner show slidable tops which are movable to open position for gaining access to the interior of the boxes, either for loading the bait into the same or removing it therefrom. Glassman also shows a pivoted top which has been indicated that it may be used as a seat.
Another somewhat box-type fish-holding device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,741,061, to Harrison, dated Apr. 10, 1956, in which a pivoted lid has spikes thereon coengageable with similar spikes in the bottom of the box.
Serrated, fish-engaging elements which cooperate with each other for engaging a fish also have been employed in creels, such as illustrated in prior U.S. Pat. No. 752,600, to Sinclair, dated Feb. 16, 1904.
A somwhat sophisticated type of fish-holding means also is illustrated in recent U.S. Pat. No. 3,968,588, to Peterson, dated July 13, 1976, in which a box-like arrangement has a spiked panel coengageable with similar spikes on a movable blade actuated by a foot treadle, which extends from the lower end of the box, the box being adapted to be supported in vertical position.
It has been found that different arrangements of certain of the features of the prior art, such as referred to above, and improvement thereon can be devised which provide a very simple but sturdy device capable of not only holding the head of a fish for purposes of removing a hook, but also serving as a receptacle for the fish after removing the hook, and simultaneously providing other conveniences described in detail hereinafter.